Showing posts with label Israeli Army. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Israeli Army. Show all posts

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Dramatic Video Captures Rocket Intercepts Over Southern Israel

On Wednesday at least three more rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip in a continuation of sporadic violence that has left the region on edge after President Trump"s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel a week ago. Today"s attack brings the number of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel since Trump"s announcement to eight (a few more have been launched but landed in Palestinian territory), which marks the largest number fired since Operation Protective Edge in 2014. 


The Israeli military says it intercepted two of the missiles through its Iron Dome defense system, while a third fell without damage or casualties, though local media reported that a handful of Israelis were being treated for minor things like shock and a leg injury from fleeing a potential impact area. 


Large explosions could be heard over southern Israel"s Negev region as the Iron Dome intercepts were successful, which were caught on cell phone video by stunned Israeli onlookers below the flight path.





This is the second time this week that the Iron Dome system has been put into action after a similar number of rockets were launched from Gaza on Monday. Israel has continued to retaliate - early on Wednesday the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported a strike on a Hamas military compound in the southern Gaza Strip.


The IDF has repeatedly warned that it would hold Hamas directly responsible for all "hostile activity" and threats coming from Gaza - though Israeli airstrikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip have been notorious for causing mass civilian casualties among the Palestinian population, who often have nowhere to flee outside the confines of the relatively small strip of land that comprises Gaza territory.


This is the second time this week that the Iron Dome system has been put into action after a similar number of rockets were launched from Gaza on Monday. Israel has continued to retaliate - early on Wednesday the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported a strike on a Hamas military compound in the southern Gaza Strip.


The IDF has repeatedly warned that it would hold Hamas directly responsible for all "hostile activity" and threats coming from Gaza - though Israeli airstrikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip have been notorious for causing mass civilian casualties among the Palestinian population, who often have nowhere to flee outside the confines of the relatively small strip of land that comprises Gaza territory.



Map source: BBC


During Operation Protective Edge, for example, the United Nations reported that at least 2,104 Palestinians died, which included 1,462 civilians, of whom 495 were children and 253 women. The 2014 Israeli Army incursion into Gaza lasted seven weeks, and 66 Israeli soldiers died during the operation, as well as seven civilians killed in Israel due to rocket fire from Gaza. 


Though Hamas as well as outside regional groups like Hezbollah have called for a "third intifada" (or Palestinian uprising) in response to what Palestinian leadership has called Trump"s "declaration of war", various reports indicate that protests are losing momentum and now appear only sporadic after an aggressive Israeli crackdown.









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Friday, December 8, 2017

"Death To America & Israel" - "Day Of Rage" Clashes Lead To First Post-Trump-Speech Deaths

At least two rioters have been killed during clashes with the Israeli army along the border of the Gaza strip on Friday. And of course, the media didn"t hesitate to blame their deaths on President Trump...


 



 


Disturbances and demonstrations broke out in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip on Friday after Hamas, the terrorist organization that until recently exercised unilateral conrol over the Gaza Strip, called for Palestinians to rise up in a third Intifada against the Israelis while also declaring Friday a "Day of Rage following Trump"s Wednesday decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and ordered the State Department to begin preparations to move the US embassy there. While most of Israel"s administrative services are based in West Jerusalem, most embassies and foreign diplomats are based in Tel Aviv.


While Trump"s decision sparked outrage among leaders of the Muslim world and even drew a rebuke from the UN Security Council, the president pointed out in a late-night tweet that every former US president since at least Bill Clinton has promised to recognize Jerusalem as the capital.


 



 


The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported that two people were killed and dozens injured in the clashes. One of those killed was Mohammad al-Masri, 30, who was fatally shot by the Israeli army east of Khan Younis in the enclave. The Washington Post reported that at least 35 people were injured in Gaza. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 245 people were injured in the West Bank and Jerusalem.


The Israeli army said in a statement about the Gaza clashes that during “riots” by Palestinian protesters, “soldiers fired selectively towards two main instigators and hits were confirmed.”


Earlier, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said units stationed around the Old City of Jerusalem were "beefed up" with additional soldiers. However, he said there were no restrictions on Muslim worshipers entering to pray at the holy Haram al-Sharif compound, home of the renowned al-Aqsa Mosque.


Some scuffles broke out between demonstrators and border police near the Austrian hospice in Jerusalem’s Old City. In Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians demonstrated after the end of Friday prayers, and clashes broke out between hundreds of youths and Israeli forces along the border between the enclave and Israel.


Meanwhile, at the al-Alqsa Mosque compound, thousands of worshipers filed in for the midday Friday prayers without incident.


“We usually come on Fridays, but today has special meaning,” said Noor Shaheen, 24, as she left prayers. She said the fact that Israeli authorities had not put restrictions on who could come to prayers on Friday had eased tensions, adding that Palestinians in Jerusalem were weary of protests.



“We are tired,” she said. “It’s hard to make action without thinking of the reaction.”


Of course, not all Palestinians see Trump"s decision as a declaration of war against the Muslim world..


According to WaPo, Ahmed Aduelhawa, 60, said Palestinians in Jerusalem did not want to give Israel “an excuse to humiliate us” and that Trump’s declaration “doesn’t matter.” He said: “The future of Jerusalem isn’t in Trump’s hands, not in Abbas’s hands, not in Netanyahu’s hands, it’s in God’s hands."


Clashes were later reported in the West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah.



On Friday, the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, staged military parades in which masked men wearing military uniforms carried rifles and shells.


The participants chanted slogans against the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, calling for a revolt against Israel to “liberate Jerusalem from occupation."


The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet Friday after eight countries on the 15-member body requested a briefing on the U.S. decision, which the Palestinians claim breaches U.N. resolutions and international law.



Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the US Embassy in neighboring Jordan holding placards reading “Decision Rejected” and “No to US arrogance.” Criticism continued to flow in from governments in the Middle East, Europe and beyond, as U.S. friends and adversaries alike voiced disapproval and alarm.


 



Demonstrators also gathered outside the US embassy in Malaysia...


 



 


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan predicted that the region would ignite in a “ring of fire,” while European leaders reiterated their opposition to the policy, and 86-year-old Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu declared, “God is weeping."


The leaders of Saudi Arabia also warned of the fallout from Trump"s decision.


US institutions in the region were also preparing for possible violent fallout. The State Department restricted travel for U.S. government employees in Jerusalem and the West Bank, warning U.S. citizens to avoid crowded areas. Of course, it"s still early evening in Israel...


...Meaning there"s still plenty of time for more casualty reports before the day is over.


 









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